Plumber in Downtown Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON — Whether from a hurricane or tropical storm, a deluge of rain or just high tide, Medical University of South Carolina's downtown Charleston campus is frequently flooded.

To help solve the water intrusion, MUSC's Board of Trustees on May 16 approved a $55 million elevated enclosed walkway as a campus connector that would run between the major buildings on campus and keep patients, students and staff above the troubling waters. Trustees also got a potential opening date on its new cancer hospital, which might come with a hefty price tag.

The connector cost is $20 million more than previously estimated when MUSC got initial approval about three years ago. The hospital has been hoping for final approval and funding since. Around $28 million of the current cost would come out of the university/health system capital reserve funds.

There is a chance that the Legislature will be providing $18 million that is now in both versions of the budget, awaiting final approval. If that comes in, the amount coming out of reserves would be $10 million, said Rick Anderson, executive vice president for finance and operations. In the previous legislative session, $34 million for the connector was a late scratch from the Senate's version of the bill and ultimately did not pass.

About $9 million of that cost will go toward burying power lines that cross three different streets, which added to the cost increase, Anderson said.

MUSC would still have to get final state approvals to proceed with the project, which it will pursue at its next opportunity in August, Anderson said. Once approved, project design and construction will take roughly three years.

The connector, once completed, will provide a second-floor link all to the main clinical buildings — Ashley River Tower and Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital to the west, to the Bioengineering Building to Thurmond/Gazes research building and the main hospital.

Then "you can get patients, without having to go outside, from one hospital to another," Anderson said.

Currently, flooding can cut them off, MUSC President David J. Cole said.

"If you think about it, in an actual storm situation, we're divided into three different healthcare systems in downtown Charleston, in every hurricane," he said.

The flooding is also a patient safety issue, particularly as thousands of patients, staff and students dash across a busy Courtenay Avenue and others around campus, Cole said.

"We owe it to our patients and our community" to have a safer route, he said. One of those dashing across Courtenay is Cole himself, a practicing surgical oncologist.

"I live it every day," he said. The connector will also make it easier to transport specimens and lab work back and forth.

As that project proceeds, preliminary planning and work on a new cancer hospital is underway. The board voted at its last meeting in April to pursue a new state-of-the-art cancer clinical facility as part of the push by MUSC Hollings Cancer Center to receive Comprehensive Cancer Center designation in 2028. The cancer hospital will be open soon after. The aggressive timeline calls for welcoming patients in April 2030, said Tom Crawford, chief operating officer for MUSC Health.

"And our goal will be to beat the timeline," he told the board. The hospital's potential cost is still being worked out and studied, Crawford said. But when pressed by trustees about a ballpark figure, he threw out $500 million.

"Five hundred is a good number to think about," said Dr. Don Johnson, who chairs the board's committee on Hollings.

MUSC officials are using the Emory Winship Cancer Institute center that opened in downtown Atlanta in 2023 as a guide and that center was completed in roughly five years, Johnson said. The cost was reportedly $469 million.

Slow-moving system soaking Southeast, mid-Atlantic

A slow-moving storm system that has been blasting portions of the Gulf Coast, Southeast and mid-Atlantic is expected to continue to funnel precipitation into the region as we begin a new workweek, increasing the chances for flash flooding. FOX Weather Meteorologist Jane Minar breaks down the latest forecast on Sunday, May 11.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Roads in Charleston, South Carolina, were impassable due to flooding on Sunday after torrential rain drenched cities across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic as deep tropical moisture flows in from the Gulf.

After steady rain and storms on Saturday, more potentially record-breaking precipitation is expected Sunday and Monday.

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Rain soaking Panama City Beach, Florida

It's been a wet morning in Panama City. FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell captured video of residents running through the rain and triathletes bicycling through the downpours.

According to the National Weather Service, Charleston International Airport in South Carolina has received 1.99 inches of rain since midnight. This breaks the rainfall record for May 11 of 1.93 inches, set in 1952.

In addition, downtown Charleston has received 2.06 inches of rain since midnight. That crushes the previous record rainfall for May 11 of 1.57 inches, set 126 years ago in 1899.

In Florida, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City picked up a whopping 0.75 inches of rain in just eight minutes between 3:56 a.m. and 4:04 a.m. CT, which is a staggering rainfall rate of 5.63 inches an hour.

Panama City's two-hour rainfall total between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. CT was 2.26 inches.

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(FOX Weather)

The slow-moving storm system lingering along the Gulf Coast is expected to continue sending waves of rain and thunderstorms across parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas on Mother’s Day and into the start of the new workweek.

Some communities could see over 4 inches of rain, especially where thunderstorms linger over a region. The ground in many areas will already be saturated from earlier rain, so it won’t take much to trigger flash flooding.

On Sunday morning, numerous Flash Flood Warnings were issued in parts of Alabama, Florida and South Carolina due to the relentless rounds of heavy rain. Those have since expired.

(FOX Weather)

NOAA's Weather Prediction Center is concerned about additional flooding and has placed millions of people in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic in a Level 2 out of 4 flood threat on Sunday and Monday.

Florida, southern Georgia and southern South Carolina are in the bull's-eye for the heaviest rain on Sunday, but parts of Alabama, Mississippi and even western North Carolina could also see localized flooding.

(FOX Weather)

Western North Carolina is still in recovery mode after communities there were decimated by Hurricane Helene's onslaught last year, although rainfall totals in that region aren't expected to be anywhere near what was experienced during that deadly and historic event.

The storm system is expected to slowly drift into the Tennessee Valley by Monday, spreading rain into the Carolinas and Virginia.

Flood Watches are expected to expand as the situation continues to unfold early this week, so residents are urged to prepare.

The system is expected to exit the region by Tuesday, and rainfall totals are expected to remain in the 3-5 inch range for most areas. However, isolated totals of up to 7 inches could fall in some parts of western North Carolina and Virginia.

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New luxury hotel to open in downtown Charleston

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A Philadelphia-based hospitality group is bringing its second luxury hotel to downtown Charleston’s King Street.

Owned by Method Co., a Philadelphia-based hospitality company, The Nickel Hotel will have a soft opening May 1. The grand opening for the hotel is expected in late spring following the completion of a rooftop bar and lounge, Rosemary Rose.

Method Co. also owns The Pinch hotel on King and George Streets, which is home to the Lowland restaurant.

“After the success of The Pinch, we’re excited to open another hotel in this welcoming and vibrant city,” Randall Cook, CEO of Method Co., said in a news release. “With The Nickel, we’re expanding into a bustling neighborhood and we hope to become the gathering place for both locals and tourists alike.”

The five-story hotel will have 50 rooms and suites, an interior courtyard, a guest-only bar and parlor and Rosemary Rose, which overlooks the city, the release said. Room rates start at $459 per night.

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Rooms include full-size kitchens, a washer and dryer, dining and lounge space, the release said. Many of the rooms have balconies.

The Nickel Hotel was named after the French expression “c’est nickel,” which translates to “it’s perfect.” According to the release, the hotel’s design by in-house team Method Studios and New York-based Morris Adjmi Architects, follows a combination of vintage and contemporary style.

The hospitality group also partnered with Capital Square to complete The Nickel Hotel, the release said.

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There has been an internal debate since Tutti Pizza opened in March: "Are you round or square?"

It's a difficult choice, for both pizza styles have tempting qualities.

The new Upper King Street restaurant's round pies are New York-inspired with a fluffy crust and crispy bottom. Square slices, which fall somewhere between grandma and Sicilian styles, have a crispier crust that can be sprinkled with sesame seeds for extra crunch.

No matter how you slice it, Tutti Pizza has been all the rage since opening in Charleston.

Owned by 2025 James Beard Award semifinalists Femi Oyediran and Miles White of Graft, the new pizzeria is housed next door to their popular wine bar and shop. The business owners, who met years ago while working at Charleston Grill, debuted Tutti’s takeout window first before opening for indoor dining a few weeks later.

Tutti, whose playlist ranges from hip-hop to disco to '90s hits, has about a dozen tables and a relaxed but upbeat energy, Oyediran said. Guests can scan a QR code to add themselves to the waitlist before heading to Graft for a glass of wine.

Pizzas are naturally best fresh out of Tutti's deck ovens, but takeout is still a priority, the owners said.

"We still think the pizza travels really well," White said. "We built this place to do volume, and we're ready for it."

The new venture is a partnership with Anthony Guerra of Oakwood Pizza Box. The pies at his Raleigh restaurant, and now Tutti, are a nod to New York City pizzerias, like Di Fara and Umberto’s, that Guerra frequented as a kid.

The next boutique lodging coming to downtown Charleston has a shine in its name: The Nickel.

The 50-room property that borrows from a French phrase is expected to open with a soft launch next month at the site of the former Dixie Furniture store at 529 King St. Its website and booking platform opened this week, with reservations accepted as early as May 1.

Room rates start from $459 per night, with discounts for stays booked through Labor Day.

A grand opening will follow with the launch of Rosemary Rose, a public rooftop bar and lounge, by late spring.

The project was developed in partnership with Capital Square. It was first unveiled three years ago as an $61 million extended-stay-style accommodations to be called the Roost Apartment Hotel. It's the second downtown hospitality development for Method Co., which opened The Pinch, along with the onsite Lowland restaurant, farther south at King and George streets in 2022.

Randall Cook, CEO of the Philadelphia-based company, said that following the success of The Pinch, The Nickel was envisioned as a more world-class luxury property and a "gathering place for both locals and tourists alike.”

Daniel Olsovsky, Method's creative director, said the company wants to "reinvent the idea of what a rooftop can be on Upper King" by offering a more elevated, upscale bar with a view.

"We think of it as the cooler younger brother to The Pinch," Olsovsky said.

The five-story lodging will feature 50 suites and rooms, an interior courtyard, a guest-only bar and parlor, a library and private event space.

Olsovsky said the pivot away from the Roost concept, which has seven properties in five states, had to do with the changing nature of King Street, as it attracts a younger crowd of tourists who want their hotel stays to be part of their visitor experience.

"We are betting big on Charleston, and the Upper King Street area," Olsovsky said. "It's not your parents' Charleston and King Street is at the forefront of that shift."

The developer acquired the property in 2019 for $11 million. It demolished the former Dixie Furniture building a few years later.

Upper King has undergone a renaissance over the past decade or two as long-time retailers and other property owners sold to buyers that invest in hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

While there are several nearby hotels nearby, including the dual-branded Hyatt House and Hyatt Place and Live Oak, Olsovsky said Method saw a unique opportunity to blend the luxury and style of boutique properties with the comforts of home.

Each guest room offers full-size kitchens, a washer and dryer, and dining and lounge areas, with some offering balconies facing the King Street or the courtyard.

"Having amenities inside the rooms makes this ideal for families, groups, or someone who wants to host friends in their room," he said. "I think that's where the future of boutique hotels are heading. It's not just dropping your bag off in a room with a bed anymore."

The Nickel was named for the expression, “C’est Nickel” which translates to “It’s Perfect,” according to the hotel, and French undertones are incorporated throughout the design and decor.